Non-fouling winch



2,868,504 NON-FOULING WINCH I John E. Minty, Muskegon, Mich., assignor to Manning,

Maxwell & Moore, Ind, Muskegon, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 2, 1955, SerialNo. 491,739

13 Claims. or. 254-150) e The present invention relates to the art of hoists, or Winches, and, more particularly, is concerned with the provision of a simple yet completely non-fouling winch.

For many years, in fact almost since the origin of the use of winding drums for moving loads by flexible chains or ropes along apatheither vertical or inclined to the vertical, wherein the lifting medium was stored on the winding drum, the problem has existed of keeping the liftingmedium properly tracked on the drum. All man- 1161* of sliding shoes andrope guides have been utilized, but none of them heretofore have prevented a lifting medium in the unloaded or slack condition from fouling or jumping the grooves on the drum with the result that when the load was again applied, the lifting medium was jammed or otherwise injured.

Aside fro-m general age-old hoisting operations whereinthe fouling. problem has always been acute, modern uses of winches on aircraft for rescue purposes, and the like, have rendered a truly non-fouling winch an even greater need than before.

.Such rescue operations require that the apparatus for lowering a line or the like be capable of lowering such a line when completely unloaded and accordingly in the light condition, without snarling even in the presence of excessive wind or other disturbing influences. To my knowledge no hoist or winch construction heretofore provided has been able. to accomplish this important function under difficult conditions with complete satisfaction, Needless to say, a fouled winch under the rescue operation situation described above may well lead to complete failure of the rescue operation and accordingly it is necessary to provide substantially infallible nonfouling operation.

The problem of fouling is, of course, also an important one in fields other than aircraft and the present hoist, which effectively eliminates the fouling problem, is useful for a marine hoist, vehicle hoists, as well asany other heavy duty installation where vibration, weather or other conditions would ordinarily prevent satisfactory hoist operation inthe unloaded condition.

In accordance with the present invention, alight Weight completely non-fouling winch is provided which is completely satisfactory for aircraft use, although not intended to be limited to such use solely. Generally, the invention providesa Winch having a rotatable winding drum capable of reciprocation along its rotational axis. A sleeve, closely fitting the peripheral surface of the drum, is secured forsimultaneous rotation with the drum but is prevented from axial movement. Automatic actuating means are provided for reciprocating the drum relative to thesleeve as the drum is rotated in either direction so thatrope or steel cable coiled upon the drum im- 2 mediately adjacent the .end of the sleeve is moved within the confines ofthe sleeve immediately after it is placed on the drum. By thus providing confinement for the cable whereby both the drum which supports the cable on the inside and the'sleeve which confines the cable on the out:

side are rotating at the same speed at all times, the cable may be forced out of the winch and downwardly whether loaded ornot without any danger of becoming loose on the winch and snarling." Ilikewise, in lifting articles from the floor or ground the positioning of the cable .on the drum is accurately'controlledin such a manner that no,

fouling whatever can occur. i

It is, therefore, an objectof'the present invention to provide a novel, simple, non-fouling winch or the like,

Still another objeet of the present invention is to provide a free-running heavyduty non-fouling winch.

Yet another object of thef present invention is to provide a non-fouling winch structure wherein the winch cable is prevented from fouling under all conditions of operation including the lowering of the unloaded cable.

.Still another object of the present invention is to provide a winch capableof non-fouling action irrespective of the amount of load suspended on the winch cable or the external manipulation of the cable.

Still a further object of the present invention is to pro vide a non-fouling winch wherein the winch cable is coiled on a drum without suffering at any time from longitudinal rubbing with thedrum or a drum cover associated thereith. r A feature of the presentinvention is the provision of a hoist drum rotatably mounted within a simultaneously rotating sleeve such that no. rubbing,-longitudinally of the cable coiled on the drum,may take: place between the drum and the external sleeve during operation.

Still a further feature of the present invention is the provision of means for reciprocating the Winding drum of a winch.

Yet anotherfeature of the present invention resides in the provisionof winch cable cleaning and oiling means positioned at the cable outlet of the winch whereby dirt and other foreign matter is removed from the winch t Figure 1 is an end elevational view in cross-section of a hoist constructed according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a side elevationalview taken along the line 11-11. of. Figure 1; and. i

Figure 3 is a partial, cross-sectional view in side elevaion, of a modified form of the present hoist.

As shown on the drawings: i

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, an outer Winch housing lit) is providedwith an attachment flange 11 for. securing the winch to an outer surface of a helicopter, aircraft. or other structure by means of conventional bolts 12.. The housing 10 is constructed of two portions 10a and 10b secured by peripherally positioned attachment flanges '14 and boltslS to provide an enclosed unit.

Within the housing 10 shown in Figure 2, and supportedtherein by bearings 16, 17 and 18, is a winch drive. shaft 19. The shaft 19 is rotated by means ofa worm wheel 20 and worm 21. .The shaft 19 is-main- Psflented Jan. 13, 1959 10. While worm and worm wheel gearing is herein illustrated for rotating the shaft 19 it will be understood that any form of conventional reduction gearing may be utilized, and that similarly any known source of motive power such as, for example,e1ectric or hydraulic motors may-be utilized for rotating the gearing. It is desired, though not illustrated in the attached drawings, that one way brake means he provided for preventing rotation of the shaft 19 in response to the application of a downward load on the hoist cable, but which will permit the rotation of the shaft 19 in the direction lowering the hoist cable, when such rotation is initiated by the power source. Such brakes, known in the art as drive-release load brakes are conventional and per se form no part of the present invention. 1

As viewed in Figure 2, the left hand end of shaft 19 is provided with straight splines 22 which cooperate with the hub 23 of a cable drum 24. The spline connection between the shaft 19 and the drum 24 permits the drum 24 to reciprocate alongthe shaft 19 but requires the drum 24 to rotate simultaneously with the worm wheel Reciprocation of the drum 24 is automatically accomplished through the provision of a plurality of rollers 25, 26 and 27 positioned at selected points relative to the periphery of the drum 24. Each of the rollers is mounted upon an eccentric bearing pin 28 carried by an internally directed flange 29 on the housing portion 10b. By rotatably adjusting the positions of the eccentric supports 28, the respective rollers 25, 26'and 27 may be moved to support the drum 24 concentric to the shaft 19, thereby removing a substantial portion of the load of the drum from the shaft. By thus placing almost all of the direct load applied to the drum 24 by the cable upon the housing 10 through the rollers, reciprocation and rotation of the drum 24 relative tothe shaft 19, without binding, is assured.

Actual reciprocation of the drum 24 is automatically causedupon rotation of the shaft 19 by the cooperation of the drum 24 with the rollers 25, 26 and 27. The rollers are positioned around the periphery of the drum 24 in an axially staggered relation defined by a helical line having the same lead as the helical cable groove30 in the drum 24. The roller is, as shown in Figure I, positioned in the cable groove of the drum 24 immediately below, and prior to, the point of engagement therewith by the cable 31. The roller 25 is, accordingly, positioned furthest toward the right as viewed in Y Figure 2, with rollers 26 and 27 being positioned progressively toward the left. Thus, asthe shaft 19 is rotated inthe clockwise direction as viewed from the left in Figure 2. any point in the cable groove first travels under the roller 27, then under the roller 26, then under the roller 25 and is then immediately contacted by the cable 31. Since the rollers 25, 26 and 27 are axially fixed relative to the housing 10, the helical nature of the cable groove 30 and the contact'thereof with the rollers requires the drum 24 to move axially in the manner of a screw being rotated in a threaded nut.

Surrounding the drum 24, and fixedly secured to shaft 19 for rotation therewith is a sleeve 32. The sleeve 32 is fixed against axial movement relative to the housing j 10 and extends axially to a pointimmediately adjacent the point at which the cable 31 engages the drum 24.

Although the sleeve 32. is illustrated as constructed of relatively heavy gauge material, it will be understood that no eccentric load is imposed. uponv the sleeve and accordingly it is contemplated that it. may be constructed of relatively thin sheet metal when. such an. expedient" is considered desirable for purposes. of: reducing the. total weight. of the winch unit.

In operation, as the shaft 19 is rotated by the worm Wheel 20, for example in the counterclockwise direction as viewed from the left in Figure 2, the drum 24 and sleeve 32 rotate in the counterclockwise direction simultaneously at the same speed. As a result of this rotation, however, the drum 24 simultaneously moves axially toward the left as viewed in Figure 2 thereby moving out from within the sleeve 32 and continually discharging the cable 31 from a point 33 on the periphery of the drum 24 immediately above an outlet aperture 34 in the housing 10. Since both the drum 24 and the sleeve 32 are rotating at exactly the same speed immediately prior to the point at which the cable 31 emerges from within'the sleeve 32, the'cable is held against snarling or fouling up until the point immediately prior to its, discharge through the opening 34. Thus, even if the cable should balk at passing out through the aperture 34, and accordingly back up slightly in the groove 30, the sleeve 32 would prevent the cable from becoming disassociated with the groove 30 at any point thereon until immediately prior to the point at which the cable passes through the' aperture 34. In effect, this provides a positive grip on the cable by two elements, the sleeve 32 and the drum 24, by which the cable is forced to move out through the aperture 34. In view of the fact that the cable is at all times closely confined, either by the members-24 and 32 or, for a short space, the members 24 and 1% or 100, it is impossible for any kinks to develop even though no load whatever is suspended on the cable 31.

In lowering the cable 31, the drum 24 passes completely out of the sleeve 32. Likewise, the point of support upon the drum 24 by the main load carrying roller 25 shifts axially from the left hand end of the drum 24 to the portion of the groove 30 immediately adjacent the right hand end of the drum. In this manner, the roller 25 is constantly positioned immediately under the portion of the drum upon which the cable load is directed.

While it will be understood that ordinarily it is considered desirable to enclose the entire unit by means of the housing 10,.in order to prevent the ingress of foreign matter which could cause binding or corrosion of the internal parts, it may in some instances be desirable to lighten the weight of the unit by eliminating a substantial portion of the housing section 10b and shaft 22. The Winch of the present invention is susceptible to such modificatiomas shown in Figure 3 since no loads, except torsion, are placed on the shaft 22.

In order to prevent the introduction of foreign matter into the winch grooves 30 and the rollers 25, 26, 27, as

Well as to prevent internal corrosion, a cable cleaning and lubricating apparatus is preferably provided. This maybe seen in Figure 1 wherein a circular brush 45 and a lubricant soaked wiper 46 are illustrated.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have provided a novel, completely non-fouling winch capable of highly effective use in all types of winch operation including marine, aircraft and general hoisting uses. It will be understood, of course, that while the non-fouling nature of the winch, and its compactness, make it peculiarly useful with aircraft, it may also be successfully utilized in any installation where non-fouling is considered desirable. Further, although the attached drawings illustrate the principles of operation it will be understood that the mechanical elements of the structure may be manufactured of forgings, reinforced sheet metal or other light weight materials without departing from the concepts of the invention. Likewise, such expedients as anti friction bearings for the shaft 22 may be incorporated where considered desirable.

Since it is apparent that still further modifications and variations may be made in the structure above described and herein disclosed, without departing from the novel claims.

I claim as my invention; p

1. A non-fouling winch comprising a cable drum, shaft means slidably supporting said drum for rotating said drum in either direction of rotation while permitting reciprocation thereof, sleeve means having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum and connected to said rotating shaft means for simultaneous rotation therewith, means for reciprocating said drum relative to said sleeve simultaneously with the rotation thereof and means for continuously winding a cable on said drum immediately prior tomovement of the wound portion of the drum into said sleeve.

2. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable onto said drum, and means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve immediately upon winding of said cable thereon, whereby as said cable is wound on said drum it is confined between said drum and sleeve.

3. A non-fouling winch comprising a cable drum, a housing, shaft means slidably supporting said drum for rotation of said drum in said housing while permitting reciprocation thereof, sleeve means having an internal diameter substantially the same as the diameter of said drum and rigidly connected to said shaft for simultaneous rotation therewith, means for reciprocating said drum into and out of said sleeve simultaneously with the rotation thereof, and means for continuously winding a cable on said drum immediately prior to movement of the wound portion of the drum into said sleeve.

4. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable on said drum and means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve immediately upon winding of said cable thereon whereby as said cable is wound on said drum it is confined between-said drumand sleeve, said drum having a helical groove in the surface thereof and said last named means comprising at least one roller axially fixed relative to said shaft and in rolling engagement with said groove.

5. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable on said drum, means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve immediately upon winding of said cable thereon whereby said cable is confined between said drum and sleeve as it is wound on the drum, and means supporting said drum by its periphery whereby the cable load on said drum is substantially removed from said shaft.

6. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable on said drum, means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve immediately upon winding of said cable thereon whereby said cable is confined between said drum and sleeve as it is wound on the drum, said drum having a helical cable groove in the surface thereof and said last named means comprising at least one roller axially fixed relative to said shaft and in rolling load carrying engagement with said groove.

7. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable onto said drum and means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve simultaneously with the winding of said cable thereon whereby as said cable is wound on said drum it is confined imwai mediately between said drum and sleeve, said drum having a helical groove therein and said last named means comprising at least one roller axially fixed relative to said shaft and in rolling engagement with said grooveat a point toward which the drum load occasioned by said cable is directed, whereby said drum load is anti-frictionally supported. l

8. A winch comprising a drive shaft rotatably supported at one end only in a rigid housing, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an in ternal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable onto said drum and means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve simultaneously with the winding of said cable thereon whereby said cable is confined between said drum and sleeve, said drum having a helical groove therein and said last named means comprising at least one roller axially fixed relative to said shaft and in rolling engagement with said groove at a point toward which the drum load occasioned by said cable is directed whereby the drum load is anti-frictionally supported by said roller.

9. A Winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said .drum, means guiding a cable on said drum and means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve immediately upon winding of said cable thereon whereby as said cable is wound on said drum it is confined between said drum and sleeve, said drum having a helical groove in the surface thereof and said last named means comprising an element axially fixed relative to said shaft and in engagement with said groove, and means supporting said drum by its outer peripheral surface.

10. Non-fouling winding means comprising a housing, a shaft supported for rotation in said housing, a drum splined to said shaft for axial sliding movement thereon and rotation therewith, a sleeve rigidly secured to said shaft for enshrouding said drum, a helical groove in the surface of said drum, a roller on said housing for contacting said groove, an aperture in said housing for guiding a cable into the groove in said drum, said aperture being fixedly axially positioned relative to said sleeve adjacent the end thereof whereby said cable contacts said groove immediately adjacent to but clear of the end of said sleeve.

11. Non-fouling Winding means comprising a housing, a shaft supported at one end for rotation in said housing, a drum splined to said shaft for axial sliding movement thereon and rotation therewith, a sleeve rigidly secured to said shaft for enshrouding said drum, a helical groove in the surface of said drum, rollers on said housing for contacting said groove, an aperture in said housing for guiding a cable into the groove in said drum, said aperture being fixedly axially positioned relative to said sleeve adjacent the end thereof whereby said cable contacts said groove immediately adjacent to but clear of the end of said sleeve, at least one of said rollers providing means for carrying the load in said drum.

12. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an internal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable on said drum and means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve immediately upon winding of said cable thereon whereby as said cable is Wound on said drum it is confined between said drum and sleeve, said drum having a helical groove in the surface thereof and said last named means comprising at least one roller axially fixed relative to said shaft and in rolling drum load supporting engagement with said groove.

13. A winch comprising a drive shaft, a cable drum slidably splined thereon for rotation therewith, a sleeve axially rigidly secured to said shaft and having an in ternal diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said drum, means guiding a cable onto said drum, means reciprocating said drum into said sleeve simultaneously with the'winding of said cable thereon whereby as said cable is wound on said drum it is confined immediately between said drum and sleeve, said drum having a helical groove therein and said last named means comprising atleast one roller axially fixed relative to said shaft and 8 which the drum load; occasioned by said cable is direct ed, whereby. said drurh load is anti-frictionally supported V I References'Cited in the file-of this" patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 1,522,139 Getchell Mar. 22, 1927 2,140,426 Hodson Dec. 13, 1938 2,594,484 Nixon Apr. 29, 1952 2,598,709

Morris June 3, 1952 

